Southampton

Southampton situated 75 miles off south-west London, is the largest city of Hampshire. Southampton is a major port that lies nearest to the New Forest. Lying at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen, where the River Hamble joins them to the south, the city is a unitary authority and has a population of 253,651. Southampton is pronounced as “Soton” by the locals who are known as “Sotonian”.

According to the census conducted in 2001 census Southampton and Portsmouth were separate urban areas but by 2011 they had become the sixth largest built area in England. It also formed a part of the South Hampshire metropolitan area or the Solent City. Its population of over 1.5 million makes it United Kingdom's most populous metropolitan areas.

Shipping

Southampton has been known for shipbuilding since a very early era. The RMS Titanic (known as the Unsinkable) sailed for the first and the last time from Southampton. The Royal ships - RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth -  belonged to Southampton. It is believed that the flying boats of the Royal Imperial Airways were located at Southampton.

Education

Universities of Southampton and Southampton Solent University offered hotcake courses such as PGCE (Secondary), Doctorate degrees, l BSc (Hons.)and some professional courses. They get a bulk of students of nearby cities too. The University of Southampton ranked 81 among other global universities. With regard to, Southampton Solent University has a history of 160 years. It also won “Most improved student Experience ‘’ prize in 2015 by the Times higher education. Sononian is the local resident. They also represent the largest social online communities of the globe. Southampton F.C is the famous football club.

 Sports

Southampton plays host to the Southampton Football Club who are also known as “The Saints” which plays in the Premier League at St Mary's Stadium. “The Saints” achieved the best team status when playing in the English football (First Division) for the first time in the year 1966 and held that position for eight years. In 1976 they won the FA Cup beating the favourites Manchester United and stayed in that position for 27 continuous years. In 1992 “the Saints”  became founder members of the Premier League before being relegated in 2005. In 2012, they reentered the Premier League (Division 1) and in 2015, finished 7^th.  The  Portsmouth F.C. ("South Coast derby") is one of the strongest rivals of “the Saints”.

Southampton also plays cricket. The Hampshire County Cricket Club is the famous cricket club that has been playing at the Rose Bowl in West End, the County Cricket Ground and the Antelope Ground, both of which fall near the city centre. Another league known for cricket is the Southampton Evening Cricket League.

The Southampton Hockey Club is one of the largest clubs in Hampshire which was founded in 1938 and has 7 men’s and 5 women’s teams. They girls and boys for the junior teams are chosen at an age of 6 years. Hampshire is also known for playing Rugby. The Trojans RFC are the oldest team that plays Rugby in Hampshire. The citizens of Hampshire also love yachting and water sports. Old Bowling Green – the world's oldest bowling green and first used in 1299 - is also located in Southampton and still is in use.

Miscellaneous

The Men’s Fitness magazine declared Southampton as the "fittest city in the UK" in 2006. In 2007, it fell one place down finishing next to London. Regarding parks and green places it was still ranked first. The people of Southampton watch television the least number of hours.

People     

• Issac Watts, Musician
• Benny Hill, Comedian
• Chris Packham, Naturalist
• Matt Cardle, Known for the X-Factor Series
• Shellina Permaloo, Masterchef
• Scott Mills, Radio Personality
• Jane Austen, Author (Pride and Prejudice) lived in Southampton
• Mike Brown, Rugby Union Player
• Wally Masur, Australian Tennis Player
• Millvina Dean, Last Survivor from the ill-fated RMS Titanic
• Richard Aslett Pearce, first deaf-mute Anglican clergyman